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- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
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- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
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- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
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- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
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- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
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- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
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- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
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- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
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- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
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- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
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Stocks tank as central banks hike rates to fight inflation
Stock markets sank Thursday as more central banks hiked interest rates in efforts to tame runaway inflation, actions that raised fears they could spark recessions.
On Wall Street, the Dow closed below 30,000 for the first time in more than a year, losing 740 points.
One day after the US Federal Reserve's biggest interest-rate hike in nearly 30 years, the Bank of England raised borrowing costs to their highest level since the 2009 financial crisis.
The BoE jacked up its rate by a quarter point to 1.25 percent, its fifth straight increase, trailing the Fed's more aggressive 0.75-percentage-point increase.
Adding to the sense of urgency, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) surprised the markets as it unexpectedly hiked rates for the first time since 2007.
The European Central Bank plans to hike rates next month for the first time in a decade.
"While the move by the Fed was priced in, the SNB's hike was a shock that caught investors off guard. Harder and faster rate hikes from central banks mean that a recession will be hard to avoid," City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta told AFP.
European stock markets closed at their lowest level in three months, with London and Frankfurt shedding more than three percent and Paris falling by 2.4 percent.
Wall Street, which had rallied following the Fed's rate hike on Wednesday, fell sharply on Thursday.
"US economic data is showing a deceleration in activity, which is making Wall Street bring forward their recession calls," OANDA's Edward Moya said.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq sank by four percent, while the broad-based S&P 500 lost 3.3 percent and the Dow fell 2.4 percent.
Asian markets mostly closed lower.
Markets have been pummeled this year as investors fret over consumer prices, which have soared as Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent energy and food prices through the roof.
That has intensified fear that the world economy, which is still in recovery from the deadly Covid pandemic, could lurch back into a lengthy downturn.
While rate hikes are necessary to bring down inflation, investors worry that overly aggressive action by central banks could further hurt the global economic recovery and even spark recessions.
Oil prices, meanwhile, rose slightly after losses due to demand worries caused by new Covid containment measures in China and news of surging US production.
- Key figures at around 2100 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 2.4 percent at 29,927.07 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 3.3 percent at 3,666.77 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 4.1 percent at 10,646.1 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 3.1 percent at 7,044.98 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 3.3 percent at 13,038.49 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 2.4 percent at 5,886.24 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 3.0 percent at 3,427.91 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 26,431.20 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 percent at 20,845.53 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,285.38 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.055 from $1.0444 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.235 from $1.2180
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.40 pence from 85.75 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 132.14 yen from 133.84 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.7 percent at $119.28 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.6 percent at $117.08
burs-lth/kjm/hs/to
M.A.Vaz--PC